Blog Post 4: Technology leadership Role of School Librarians

The face of education is constantly changing and evolving and as educators we must also evolve with it. Students are becoming more and more technology savvy and teachers must be willing to incorporate technology into the classroom. The only problem is that teachers do not feel adequately trained to accomplish this task. Although teachers are required to complete x amount of PD hours a year technology themed PD’s are not a requirement. This is why the role of school librarian is so important school librarians are usually know to be up to date on the latest technology and 21st century tools to use within the classroom. The school librarian wears many hats and one of those is being the technology leader. As the technology leader it is the school librarian’s job to find out about new technology and share it with the school staff. The school librarian can also share this information directly with the students during library classes, or helping with research papers. The role of technology leader is slowly becoming more and more important so important that many schools have begun to hire Technology specialist (technology leaders) instead of combining the position with the school librarian job title. This could be considered a good and a bad thing. Good because the school has more people working together to help reach the students bad because in a way it takes away from the credibility of the library once again making the library seem useless. School librarians in this position can try to build a relationship with the Technology Specialist and see how they can work together for the benefit of the teachers, students and parents. This was a great article it provided me with a lot of information about the importance of technology in a school. Once again I was surprised by the fact that the school librarian plays such a huge role in the understanding of technology not only for students but also parents and other educators. In order to continue to be an advocate for the library the librarian must exert her importance within the school. Being up to date on all the latest technology and promoting this information will continue to allow faculty and students to see the importance of the library each and every day. Reference Johnston, M. P. (2013). SCHOOL LIBRARIAN + TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST. Knowledge Quest, 42(1), 70-75.